Abstract
There is evidence of early pathological changes in cholinergic neurons of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body disease. This makes cholinergic molecular imaging one of the most important tools for studying prodromal and preclinical disease states of dementia. Various tracers have been developed for visualizing the cholinergic system. They have demonstrated profound cholinergic dysfunction in the cholinergic system of manifest dementia. Cholinergic dysfunction is also evident in prodromal stages of dementia. Evidence points to pathology first arising in the cholinergic axons and cell bodies of the basal forebrain in Alzheimer’s disease dementia and some cases of Parkinson’s disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. In another group of patients with Lewy body disease, the early pathology involves peripheral cholinergic neurons of the parasympathetic nervous system. Cholinergic molecular imaging is an important tool contributing to the search of where and when the pathological processes leading to dementia begins.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Molecular Imaging of Neurodegenerative Disorders |
Number of pages | 18 |
Publisher | Springer International Publishing |
Publication date | 1 Jan 2023 |
Pages | 127-144 |
ISBN (Print) | 9783031350979 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9783031350986 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2023 |
Keywords
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Cholinergic neurons
- Dementia
- Dementia with Lewy bodies
- Lewy body disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease dementia
- PET-CT